The three brothers – Chris, Christoph and Christopher Cringle play an integral part in the whole Spiritus Statua performance and have proved time and time again that they are very popular with the audience. Often likened to the Marx Brothers, or the Three Stooges, the Cringle Clan brings a combined mixture of quick-fire comedy and pathos to the performance but each one of them has a very distinct personality.

Chris is the youngest of the three brothers.  He is a very sociable chap and likes nothing more than telling a good joke and playing practical jokes on his fellow performers. He is a regular customer at Merlins and Arcade fancy dress where he can stock up on tricks and pranks. It was he, for example, who glued the drumsticks to Drum Major Sherbet’s Liquorice Allsorts Drum which did not go down at all well with the other statues!  This act of defiance led to further punishment with Chris having to clean each individual sweet on the Gingerbread House with a toothbrush. Chris, however, is a happy-go-lucky soul and is not the sort of person to hold a grudge for long. Bright as a button, but sometimes lacking in maturity (rather like a teenager!), Chris also likes to shock his brothers now and again with his antics. On one memorable performance, he swapped his dapper pinstripe trousers with a pair of tartan drainpipes just before the troupe stepped on stage. The audience were somewhat bemused by this spectacle but nevertheless gave him a standing ovation for his originality. However, The Management fined him ten shillings and once again, he was ordered to clean all the sweets on the Gingerbread House, only this time with a cotton bud. He has since learned his lesson and stocked up Q tips from bodycare just incase he finds himself in any more bother.

Christoph is the oldest of the three brothers and is the quietest and most studious. Sincere and deep-thinking, it is Christoph who works out all the routines for the brothers. However, he can be quite a hard task-master as he has very high standards and this can often lead to tension and rebellion from his two siblings. Often found with his nose in a book, usually bargains from Oxfam’s Book shop in Hertford Street, Christoph loves to soak up knowledge like a sponge, and when visiting new cities with the troupe you are more likely to find him in the Coventry Transport Museum or Herbert Museum and Art Gallery than window shopping. He is fascinated with the all the new-fangled contraptions of the 21st Century, particularly the laptop computer  he saw in the Sony Centre last week and has set his heart on owning one. He has been saving up his hard-earned shillings for the past seven years and estimates by 2015 he may just about be able to afford one.

Christopher is the middle brother. Flamboyant and artistic, Christopher is very popular with the fairer sex and is an outrageous flirt.   Christopher is responsible for designing and making the quick change costumes that the curators wear in the show and always like to keep a beady eye on fashion trends. His room is filled with sequins and luxiourious fabrics which he finds on the haberdashery stall in Coventry Market and his most treasured possession, a Singer Sewing Machine from the Singer Centre, takes pride of place on his dressing table. Unbeknown to the others, he sometimes makes costumes for other artistes on the side, and this extra income has enabled him quite recently to purchase a limited edition black Wii from Game for the whole troupe to enjoy, he can’t wait ‘til Crispin finds it set up in the front room on Christmas morning!